Ryan Ghelfi
Executive Director
Wilderness exists as a line on a map. It’s a line that also exists in reality, though it’s not always apparent when you cross it. Once you traverse the line, rules and feelings change. Change from a chainsaw to a crosscut, from a vehicle to foot, from loud to quiet. Another thing that generally changes when traveling from the front-country to the backcountry is cell phone reception. Of course, cell phones (particularly smartphones enabled with the internet) are a new thing in the last generation, but they are ubiquitous. In many Wilderness areas, a lack of cell service causes phones to become a lot less useful and distracting– until recently.
You can now use a cell phone to send SOS emergency text messages via satellite (which a Garmin In-Reach also does). You can also carry a Starlink in your backpack and take the internet anywhere, even in the deepest canyons and highest peaks of the Selway and the Frank. Traditional cell coverage continues to expand quickly. These changes are happening in real time. This is a big deal, and it will change the way we interact with wilderness.
Soon, it will require a conscious choice to leave the connected world behind, even 20 miles from the nearest road. Many of us now bring our cell phones into the Wilderness to take pictures, use offline maps, and listen to downloaded podcasts. These changes have already been monumental and have, in many ways, eroded the Wilderness experience. I am personally guilty of each of these things. But now, the decision about how to use technology in wilderness will be even more consequential over the coming years. Once there is widespread cheap satellite connectivity to the internet, we will have to actively choose to unplug. Otherwise, emails and texts will never stop pinging at us, even when we are 6,000ft deep in the Middle Fork of the Salmon.
I had a very engaging conversation with one of our supporters recently. This person spends many days helping people to experience the Wild and Scenic beauty and awe of rivers across the West. He told me a story about guiding in the Grand Canyon. In the past, there was no cell reception at the put-in. The night before the trip launched, all the guides would gather to get to know each other, play music, and talk about the upcoming trip, just as you would expect. One recent season, the magical experience of connecting with fellow guides before a 17-day journey on one of the world's greatest rivers was shattered by, you guessed it, the internet. People were on their phones– talking, texting, and watching movies. That wonderful wilderness experience went by the wayside, with technology replacing camaraderie
There are many risks to Wilderness and our experience of it. But I think this is the most significant risk we currently face. There are countless others, and I don’t intend to diminish them. But soon, the choice of how we interact with Wilderness and each other will change, and we will have to decide how to reckon with it. So far, our society has been relatively unsuccessful in restraining ourselves when it comes to using addictive technology. Now is the best time for all of us to impose some personal guardrails.
We’d like to hear from you. What do you think about this topic? How has the use of technology already changed your experience of the Wilderness? What are you concerned about? Or do you feel like we are making a big deal about nothing? SBFC is a leader in Wilderness, but we are nothing without our many members, supporters, mentors, and guides throughout the region and the country. Together we will forge ahead on this grand Wilderness experiment.